16 - My First Time Seeing an Angel

I had seen boring anime extras in several scenes, but I was an Explorer and almost never encountered other humans within the ruins. So, it was impossible for me not to get excited about my first fight against extras!

I was ready to use my super strength and enhanced speed to take down those four college students; however...

"Don't! Please, in the name of God, listen to me... You don't have to fight," Asia Argento pleaded with her hands clasped together and tears in the corners of her eyes.

The men smiled from ear to ear when they heard her plea.

It seemed like it only encouraged them more, for some reason. However, for me, it was completely different. I thought that the request, or rather the plea, of such a determined girl deserved to be heard.

For that reason, when those guys started walking toward me with animosity, what I did was extend my hand and think:

'Use <Melodious Voice>.'

Those young men stopped immediately, and her corneas flashed purple for an instant.

"It's okay now," I said, lowering my hand. "There are lots of pretty college girls at a bar nearby. You'd be better off going after them than attacking this young nun."

The use of my skill caused the expressions of happiness and anger on those young men's faces to be replaced with mild expressions. They then lowered their fists and shoulders, passing by me as they muttered.

"College girls really are very pretty."

"It would be complicated if the police passed by and saw us doing something to a nun."

"Ahh... My father would kill me if he found out I tried to kiss a nun by force."

"Let's go, guys. We don't need to cause trouble."

The college students ignored me completely and continued down the sidewalk, walking without any problems.

Apparently, <Melodious Voice> not only had the power to calm people down, but also had the secret effect of making people under the influence of this skill listen to me. Theoretically, wasn't this like the <Enchant> skill in some games?

"Thanks for that!" Asia Argento exclaimed suddenly, and I turned toward her.

"It was nothing. I just did what any sensible person would have done," I replied with a hint of cynicism. After all, I would have walked straight past if the girl who approached me hadn't been Asia.

"I am Asia Argento," the nun exclaimed, bowing deeply to me. "I am a novice nun who was recently transferred from a convent in Italy to Japan."

As I waved her off and told her she didn't need to bow so low, I wondered for the first time how on earth Asia could speak such perfect Japanese if she was a foreigner.

Usually, as a reader or viewer, I would explain this to myself as a classic narrative device, but seeing Asia in person made me feel that this question needed a better answer.

"Can I ask you something personal?" I asked as she straightened her back.

Asia looked into my eyes with those huge green eyes and smiled kindly.

"Of course. You just helped me with those men; it's only natural that I want to repay you somehow."

If she had refused, I would have accepted it, but since she gave me permission, I felt I should go ahead.

"You said you were transferred from Italy, but how do you speak Japanese so fluently?" I asked, one hand on my chin.

Asia's smile faded, and she looked down at her bag — or at least, that's what it looked like at first. When she raised her hand and glanced at the silver ring on her ring finger, I immediately knew it had something to do with her Sacred Gear, the Twilight Healing. Could this be the answer she was going to give me?

"I attended a particularly strict convent," she replied with a bitter smile. "Since we could be sent to various parts of the world on missions to spread the word of God, we learned to speak many different languages."

I felt like asking her to speak other languages to prove to me that her story was true, but due to her awkward smile, I knew it was a false story. Since I didn't want to embarrass or intimidate her, I decided to just accept that answer for now.

"It must have been difficult to study so many languages, but I can't say it didn't pay off."

She nodded in agreement. "I can say the same about you. You're a foreigner too, aren't you, sir... I'm sorry, you haven't told me your name yet."

"Oh, I'm Leonard Tonello, but you can just call me Leonard."

"Leonard-san, then. You're a foreigner too, but you have no problem communicating."

I confess she caught me off guard by returning the question, but I just replied casually:

"I've wanted to live in Japan since I was only seven because I watched a lot of anime. So I studied hard, and when I turned sixteen, I came here."

Since I wasn't a character with a backstory in the original story, it was easy to sound convincing.

"Hmm. So, Leonard-san, can I ask you a personal question too?" Asia asked suddenly, and I nodded immediately. "You calmed those men down very easily. How did you do that?"